Controllable Solid Propellant Rocket Motor Stability: Deep and Rapid Variable Thrust Operations

Abstract

When flow and combustion processes couple with the acoustic modes of the combustion chamber, the solid rocket motors experience unsteady gas motion and associated thrust oscillation and motor vibration. The operations of the variable nozzle introduce relevant dynamic changes in the chamber flow and combustion. This article proposes a non-linear approach for the analysis of the effects of severe nozzle manoeuvres on the controllable solid rocket motor stability and provides the evidence that the acoustic wave amplitude evolution is influenced by the nozzle manoeuvre severity, shape and direction. The additional complexity in the problem of the combustion stability analysis introduced by the large and fast thrust manoeuvres is handled by the energy balance formulation.